Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1887-09-07
THE OLD PIONEER.
He Entertains the Children With
Stories Of His Boyhood Days.

1
Stories Of His Boyhood Days.
A Pet Bear and His Funny ways-The
Boys and tho Panther-How an Indian
Was Whipped by an Old Sow.
The Old Pioneer is bothered almost
nightly by his great-grandchildren for
stories of his boyhood days and the
ways of the people who lived in the
backwoods of Ohio. The desires of the
boys ran mostly to "reminiscences of
bears and Indians, tales of war and the
chase. That of Polly inclines more to
storie of the pioneers themselves, and
Polly being the old mans favorite,
certainly the most imperative of his
audience, generally has her way about
such things. But the other night her
brothers, one older and the other
younger than Polly, declared so vehe-
hcmently that they had right to
choose subject that even Polly,
though, as usual, curlcd up in the old
mans lap, graciously waived what she
considered her vested rights, she adj
mitted for once she should not object
to story about bear.
but think if you can't remember
some thing about little bear, Grandpa
"a baby bear-that wouldn't eat up
children like the bears in the Bible
that ate up the children that told 'Lisha
to git up, old BaldheadP' "
TIE old man laughed little, to him
self rs he said: "Well, Poll, I'm not
so mighty sure Of the bars we had them
days was the kind old 'Lisha he'd fol-
lcrin' him. Don't b'lieve they'd eat
children. Hold on, though; come to
think, they Ulster eat up lamb now N
then, N they liked nice, fat little pig
most too well. "
Polly shuldered and drew up her
feet until she made herself into n little
round ball, with her fluffy yellow hair
as II top-knot, and her blue eyes
roundcr and brighter than ever
81 he'd bar myself, once" con-
tinued he; "a little Teller. Father n
my big brothers brought him home
from a big hunt they took one time,
after they'd killed the old mother N
the other cub. He wuz bout rs big ez
Il big puppy, N looked lots like one,
Jest ez fat IS butter, 18th nice, black,
shaggy hide IN tn funniest face you
ever saw. He wuz CT cute IS kitten
III bout ez mischievous, soon S got so
he knowed our ways. He'd git into
more mischief than all the family could
keep him out NV, N # he hadn't been so
blamed comical he'd a gone into tn
meat-barrel ez fresh meat long afore
he did. Mother d say dozen times
week, tibet she'd enough ter do 'thout
watchin' bar, N t wouldn't be more
N an hour afore she'd be laughin' at N
pcttin' him like tn rest NV us. He'd
watch, N if ever she'd leave tn milk
house SOS he could git tn door open
he'd pry roun' till he'd git in, N then
he go for tn butter, N lap up whole
crock o milk fore you could say Jack
Robinson. N if she'd come after him
III slap him over, he'd turn summer
set n come up right side foremost N
paddle after her, cryin' like child
till she'd stop IN pet him N he'd seem
to think it wuz all right N go off t
find somcthin else ter do. Then he'd
60 down by tn pond N watch tn
young ducks N geese till he'd catch
one, N he'd paw it over n over n
play with it till tn old mother'd Jest
raise tn biggest kind o. rumpus n fly
at i'm in fury. That wuz fun, n
he'd never mind it till some one o.
us'd come down n make him quit, N
then he'd trot off & find somethin'
else. BY the mex summer Bruno, ex
VIC called i'm. got ter be right smart
bar, n more full o. mischief N ever.
One Sunday they wuz big meetin' q
few miles off n we all went. shet
Bruno up in tn corn-crib N
thought he'd stay there all
right He cried N whined when
he see us all goin' { leave him-hc
liked company better'n most people N
hated worse'n pizcn & be shct up. We
stayed till most night, n when
got home mother opened tn door-she
wuz ahead o. the rest NV us--'n jest
stopped N held up her hands N scd:
Mercy on me! Who's bin herer IN
there wuz tn awfulest mess you ever
saw. Looked like they'd bin a tornado
turned loose IN tn house. All tn
chaiKs were turned over n layin' every
which way, N every thin else n tn
room wuz mixed up N some o. them
broke. N all over the floor wuz marks
o. bars feet, m the marks wuz all
sticky, One o. tn windows wuz open,
IN all round il wuz marks o. bars feet
They went upstairs, too, N mother
knowcd in minute whose feet he'd bin
there; IN soon's she got over her sur
prise she begin ter git mad, N jest
flew upstairs Things there wuz
bout ez they wuz downstairs, but
she didn't sec any Bruno, till present.
ly she heard kinder groan, n looked
roun', m finally she see a big bunch in
one o. tn beds IN turned down tn cov-
ers-'n thcra wuz Bruno, sure 'nough,
Jest plastcrcd all over 18th maple-sirup,
IN lookin' so shamcd and Kinder sorry
Y mother'd laughed 4 she hadn't bin
so mad at tn state she found things,
specially her best bed fer company. It
NJ jest nachcrly ruined tween tn ma
plc-sirup IN tn bar. When we come
ter CIPHER IL nil out it w plain 'nough.
IL ~ A